The Home of the Sacred
Sublime landscapes were those rare places on earth where one had more chance than elsewhere to glimpse the face of God. —“The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature,” by William Cronon
The “sublime landscape” is not a place to catch a glimpse.
These places are where the creators, Gods, deities and powerful beings live.
At Waw Giwulig I’itoi’s home is found.
O’odham climb the peak to be in the goodness of the Creator.
At Mauna Kea the Goddess Pele resides.
Hawaiians climb a volcano and humble themselves there.
At San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff Kachinas and Ye’ii Bi Cheii
spirits live.
They climb down the mountain blessed with songs and prayers
when Navajo and Hopi call them.
In the Grand Canyon many Gods, deities, and
powerful beings stay in these rock walls and cliffs
holding vigil for their people.
In this powerful place are all the sacred beings.
The Hualapai, Havasupai, Zuni, Hopi, Navajo and others know they
are there. The people simply don’t “catch a glimpse” of holy beings
they sing them; they pray them in these places.
Copyright © 2024 by Ofelia Zepeda. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 26, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
“Reminding ourselves about what is there in our landscape besides the obvious is important. This work is a result of an art exhibition where I was invited to be the poet-contributor. The landscapes of early American artists pushed me to say what their paintings didn’t for Indigenous people. The notion of the sublime landscape is elevated and made real by the Indigenous people.”
—Ofelia Zepeda
Ofelia Zepeda
Ofelia Zepeda, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation of southwestern Arizona, was born in Arizona in 1952. She received a BA, an MA, and a PhD from the University of Arizona.
Zepeda is the author of three poetry collections: Where Clouds Are Formed (University of Arizona Press, 2008); Jewed ‘I-Hoi/Earth Movements (Kore Press, 1997); and Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert (University of Arizona Press, 1995).